Sudan and the VRS...

Call your delegates today to help end the genocide in Darfur and possibly damage the Virginia Retirement System!

Republicans and Democrats go hand in hand today chipping away at the VRS. Nobody has looked at the economics of our retirement system to know the ramifications of pulling out of companies that invest or have some connection to the atrocities in Darfur. Do we pull out of mutual funds? Bonds? Securities? Just plain old stocks? It looks like there are exemptions to certain funds. But the financial implications have not been looked into in depth.

What happens when other legislators decide that they have a cause that can be rectified by divesting the VRS? What about an explosive issue like abortion? The VRS should not be a political football.

I want an end to the genocide in Darfur too. We have to make sure that the investments you get out of are replace with one that will match or exceed those other investments. My reading of the law as it stands to be passed, does not seem to have any recourse to replace the investments.

John McCain wins GOP nomination...

The collective screams you hear are eminating from the Shenadoah Valley...

With Mitt Romney's endorsement of presidential hopeful John McCain today, Romney has unofficially given McCain the keys to the Republican nomination.

Mike Huckabee's best hopes were for a Romney endorsement to further fracture the base and give him momentum into Washington and Wisconsin next week. Unfortunately for Huckabee, the states that are left will not give him enough delegates to compete past March 4th when Texas and Ohio will put the nails in his coffin.

McCain will now busy himself with stabbing party loyalists in the back by going back to his "moderate" persona for the general campaign. After all the gnashing of teeth over the past year, will those who are Republican party purists go back and begrudgingly pull the lever (or tap the screen) for McCain? Probably not. I expect a few posts soon about how loyal Republicans need to line up behind their nominee "for the country's sake".

Have fun swallowing your pride!

VD and what you can do about it...

I dug up this old post from two years ago and I still agree with it.

So what can we do about VD? Well for starters, don't buy into the hype. That's all this "holiday" is...hype. That means no cards, flowers, or tokens of your affection. If you must, take him/her out to dinner but if you have to make it Denny's.

Secondly, make sure to love your significant other throughout the year. Why kowtow to the norm? Make your affection known every day of the week.

Lastly, wear something other than red. Wear black or some other dark color to show others that you will not be a slave to corporate America.

Remember you can prevent VD from spreading. God speed!

Vote Obama!!

Today, Virginia will help select the next President of the United States. That person will be Barack Obama!

There are 9 1/2 hours left to vote. With turnout expected to be heavy, make sure you leave enough time in between your errands. Every vote cast for Obama could mean the difference in delegates that could swing the election. Remember that you can vote as long as you're in line by 7 p.m.

What side of the Connolly Coin do I want?

Heads- Gerry Connolly as Fairfax Chairman

Tails- Gerry Connolly as Congressman

It's agonizing. On one hand, he's let me down as Chairman a couple of times. Once, with the property tax decrease while times were good. Thus leaving us with the current Fairfax County budget crisis. The other time was with the rail to Tysons and not sticking up for the underground option. Would Connolly leaving his post as Chair be better for the county? Who would replace him? Why put us in this situation when the whole time Congress was on the mind?

As a Congressman, would he truly represent my values in Washington? Would he give in to the corporate greed and lobbyists that run amok? Could I count on him to be a voice of change instead of the status quo?

I truly do not know. But I don't like the idea of leaving a job that you haven't finished. To me, it's cutting and running from a situation that has left us hamstrung budget wise, our public schools in limbo, and transportation that leaves us sitting in our cars asking these questions.

So what is it? Connolly at the local level? Or national?

Down goes Romney...

Romney is pulling out...

Wonder if the rally in Lexington is still happening?

It's John McCain or bust for the GOP in 2008!